Why does a dropped blueberry (or blueberry juice) on my white quartz (quartz mixed with resins I think) counter require chlorox cleaner if left more than 10 seconds, but other spills like orange juice can sit hours, then be wiped off cleanly with damp towel?

Question

Why does a dropped blueberry (or blueberry juice) on my white quartz (quartz mixed with resins I think) counter require chlorox cleaner if left more than 10 seconds, but other spills like orange juice can sit hours, then be wiped off cleanly with damp towel?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

It may make more sense if you understand how bleach works. Unlike soaps, bleach doesn’t remove stains. Instead, bleach works by causing a chemical reaction called oxidation, which causes colored chemicals to become transparent. So, in a sense, the blueberry juice is still stuck to your counter, but you just can’t see it anymore. As far as why blueberry juice needs to be oxidized instead of getting scrubbed off by soap, that’s because the blueberry pigments are forming bonds with your quartz counters, and these bonds prevent them from being removed with soap.